Altman & Ive: AI Device Future?

Altman and Ive's New AI Venture

OpenAI recently announced its acquisition of io, an artificial-intelligence-focused product development company co-founded by Jony Ive. Ive is known for his design work with Steve Jobs at Apple, including the iMac, iPad, and Apple Watch. In 2019, he started his own firm, LoveFrom. The announcement of the OpenAI deal, reportedly worth $6.5 billion in OpenAI equity, included a portrait of Ive with Sam Altman and a video interview at Cafe Zoetrope.

Altman spoke of “a family of devices that would let people use A.I. to create all sorts of wonderful things,” enabled by “magic intelligence in the cloud.” The implication is that Altman and Ive intend to create a device that will reshape lives like the iPhone did. They anticipate shipping a hundred million devices faster than any company has before. Altman believes it will be “​​the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen.”

Ming-chi Kuo posted that the product is planned to be “as compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle” and have “cameras and microphones for environmental detection.” It might share similarities with devices like Friend, Humane, or Rabbit, but their functionality is limited. It’s just vaporware until Altman and Ive prove otherwise. OpenAI has faced predictions about ChatGPT changing the world, but the company is losing billions of dollars a year.

The Future of AI Integration

Generative A.I. is being integrated into daily digital experiences. iPhones summarize text threads and generate emojis. Google announced an “AI Mode” to replace its search box, which could slow web traffic. Meta’s “AI Glasses” offer voice chatting and live translation. Chatbots like Replika and Character.ai are growing in popularity.

The new machine might combine these functionalities, interpreting sounds and responding with predictive text. According to the Wall Street Journal, Altman described it as a third device, working alongside laptops and smartphones. It may be a self-surveillance machine that creates a technological scrim for personal reality.

Concerns and Considerations

The involvement of Ive invites comparisons with the iPhone, which may not be complimentary. An iPhone of A.I. sounds like a threat of ubiquitous A.I. Smartphones have created information bubbles, and omnipresent A.I. may intensify atomization.

More information about the product will be shared next year, suggesting we’re in the Palm Pilot stage of A.I. There are logistical hurdles to achieving consumer A.I. If everyone used personal A.I. machines as often as iPhones, the environmental toll would increase. This could warp global economies and require more data centers. Altman and Ive are positioning their device as a solution to screen fatigue, but this requires adopting more technology.

Speculative mockups show a simple A.I. companion device. However, this relies on factories, server farms, maintenance workers, and training data. The pendants could introduce A.I. into every aspect of life. The comforting tone of Altman and Ive’s pitch belies the uncertainty of their plan. A study found that many young people would prefer a world without the internet. It seems worth thinking twice before allowing Altman and Ive’s creation to occupy our time and minds.